Ala Wai harbor redevelopment effort falls short — again

The Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation has come up empty-handed after a committee reviewed proposals for redevelopment of the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor — rankling some Waikiki residents and boaters who fear the state will never get it right.

DOBOR begin trying to redevelop Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor sites, including the current harbormaster’s office, the adjacent parking lot and the old fuel dock, more than a decade ago. Anxiety about the future of the public recreational area has been heightened since the state broadened the harbor’s redevelopment options through Act 197 and HRS 171-6(19), paving the way for a public-private partnership.

It didn’t help that its first attempt at a partnership failed after Honey Bee USA went bankrupt in 2016, leaving a wake of creditors, including the state, which is still owed $500,000. Without more oversight, some Waikiki residents feared DOBOR’s second attempt at a public-private partnership at the Small Boat Harbor would end just as badly.

It just did. The state’s latest attempt at redevelopment is dead in the water despite the fact that DOBOR spent nearly $100,000 at the start of the process to hire DTL Hawaii to insert public input into the request-for-proposals process.

Ed Underwood, DOBOR administrator, told the Waikiki Neighborhood Board in August 2018 that the goal is to develop the harbor into a world-class marina that meets the needs of residents and visitors who use the ocean for a myriad of activities. He said developers would be expected to “learn from our past lessons” and incorporate elements collected by DTL Hawaii.

Many participants in the DTL process, such as Waikiki Neighborhood Board Chairman Bob Finley, were skeptical — especially since DTL had ties to state Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, the state Senate’s Ways and Means chairman, and Keone Downing, who was serving as a member of the Board of Land and Natural Resources at the time the contract was awarded.

“All of us holding hands, singing ‘Kumbaya’ and eating pizza was about all that got accomplished,” Finley said. “It’s terrible that we have a less-than-quality harbor that gets serious complaints about the lack of amenities and security. I’ve sent letters to two governors. It seems all the boaters want is a place to fuel their boats, buy stuff, conduct boat maintenance and have a management team that will control the harbor.”

Despite community doubts, DOBOR did get four qualified applicants instead of only one like it did when Honey Bee came to the table. Still, that was a far cry from the 27 interested parties that DOBOR claimed had expressed interest in November some months before the request for proposals went out.

In an interesting twist, one of them was Dynamic Entertainment Group Ltd., a company whose legal representative was Keith Kiuchi, who was financially involved in the failed Honey Bee redevelopment. It’s not known whether Dynamic ever submitted its plan to build a Ferris wheel and a movie theater that offers a virtual reality flyover Hawaii ride. But the company did discuss its concept with state Sen. Sharon Moriwaki, whose district spans from Kakaako to Waikiki.

DLNR refused to provide the Honolulu Star-Advertiser with the names of the applicants or their proposals during the process. The Star-Advertiser’s formal public-records request is pending.

However, DLNR did say that only two applicants submitted proposals by a Sept. 30 deadline. DLNR acknowledged that Kumulipo Studios, a nonprofit, also submitted a proposal, but said it wasn’t considered by the committee because it did not follow requirements.

“Residents and visitors deserve a facility that serves everyone, is inviting, and offers amenities that are in demand,” DLNR Chairwoman Suzanne Case said in a statement. “I fully support the committee’s decision to take a step back, study the process and come up with a new plan.”

DOBOR is expected to reissue another request for proposals, but a new date has not been set.

“DOBOR remains committed to harbor projects to maintain and improve all of its boating and ocean recreation facilities across Hawaii,” Underwood said. “We want to do this right, and we’re looking for a win-win proposal.”

Finley said he wasn’t upset by the delay since he fears the worst.

“No proposal is better than a bad proposal like one with a 350-foot tower like people feared, ” Finley said.

Waikiki Neighborhood Board member Jeff Merz, an urban planner, said if the state is serious about redeveloping the Ala Wai harbor, it needs to consider hiring professionals to shepherd it through the RFP process.

“Staying in-house doesn’t get us anywhere if the end result is failure,” Merz said. “If they had four interested parties this time and they fell out, that tells me something is wrong with the process. This is twice now. Honey Bee was the only applicant and it wasn’t even viable.”

Merz said maybe the state should even consider setting up an entity, kind of like the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which the Legislature created to establish development plans in community districts like Kakaako. The public corporation works to bring together private enterprise and government to make Kakaako redevelopment happen and to establish Kakaako as a viable community that provides a range of public benefits.

“Obviously, the way that the state has gone about redeveloping the Ala Wai harbor isn’t working,” Merz said. “The front door of Waikiki should have a gorgeous harbor that’s a draw, but there’s none of that. It’s not a pleasant place to go for residents and visitors.”

Merz said further delays mean that the gateway to Waikiki will continue to be marred by a construction site, which was cleared to make way for the failed Honey Bee project. Boaters also will have to continue to make do without amenities like a fuel dock boat repair facility, store and laundry, which were demolished to make way for Honey Bee’s odd plan, which included a retail complex and wedding chapel.

Les Parsons, a boater who has lived at the Ala Wai harbor for more than 20 years, said what’s worse is that the most recent redevelopment failure coincides with the state’s plan for a 100% or so jump in boat slip fees to begin Friday. While mooring fees are increasing statewide, they’re rising the most at the Ala Wai harbor.

“My rates are going to go up substantially when there are fewer amenities than ever,” Parsons said. “As someone on a fixed income, I’m very worried. I still don’t know what I’m going to be charged or if I can afford it. What happens if people can’t afford it? Will they put tents on the sidewalk and live there?”